


don't know when i'll be back again

by their_dark_materials



Category: Emmerdale, Roblivionberry, robron
Genre: Angst and Feels, Because Gerry Needs To Live, Canon Compliant, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Canon, The Goodbye My Tender Heart Deserved, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 00:43:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/their_dark_materials/pseuds/their_dark_materials
Summary: He manages to realise quickly enough that Lachlan is a lot more dangerous than he’d previously thought. And that maybe he better get out of town and lay low for a while, even though it breaks his heart to leave.Or, an alternate ending where Gerry Roberts leaves town and lives after all. [set after recent events]





	don't know when i'll be back again

Unlike usual, he manages to realise quickly enough that Lachlan is a lot more dangerous than he’d previously thought. And that maybe he better get out of town and lay low for a while, even though it breaks his heart to leave Doug, and Tip and Liv and this home that he’s actually come to love. But he figures it’s for the best. 

So he comes back to the Mill, and packs his bag. Only on his way out, he runs into Robert and Aaron who’ve come from a long day running errands (together, obviously), and maybe jokes that he’s going on the lam. 

It’s then that he jokingly tries to “ask” Robert and Aaron what  _they_  might think a good strategy for going on the run is (by way of kind of telling them  _his_ ). Only he doesn’t know that both men have experience with exactly this type of thing, and also his cheeks are wobbling like crazy so they know something is up. So when they ask him if he’s in trouble, he tells them some kind of made up story about an old associate who might be coming after him because he knows too much. (He’d thought about mentioning Lachlan, but he’s too scared about what could happen to  _them_. After all, Liv needs her brothers to come back to.) 

Again, both guys know he’s clearly lying, but this is the most scared they’ve ever seen him, so they agree to help him out. After a little bit of light debate, they decide that maybe he should go and stay with Annie instead of Andy or Adam, because at least she has some experience with wayward teenage boys. Also, they can bring Liv there on a holiday to visit. With that decided, Aaron makes him some snacks for the road, and Robert makes a phone call and books him a ticket. 

That evening, Gerry goes round to the pub so he can tell Doug goodbye, and he takes Tip for one last walk, before leaving a confused Jai and Frank with a full list of that little dog’s pooping habits and what he’s noticed in case they get worried. Just as they’re leaving, Gerry hits on both Bernice and Tracy one last time, even telling a running-to-throw-up Chas that she’s still attractive. (She doesn’t really process it at the time, but it’ll make her chuckle later.)   
  
At the airport, Aaron asks if Gerry has everything he needs, and he says, “Yes.” (Even though what he means is no.) And Robert asks if he’s sure he doesn’t want to tell them what’s  _really_  bothering him, and he nods yes. (And this time he’ll mean it.) And then, because he’s grateful and sad, Gerry lunges forward and squeezes them both in a tight hug, which they both entertain, because something about all this just feels so  _final_. 

And when Gerry eventually does let go (after a few minutes of him sniffling sadly in their ears, because bless his soft heart he’s already started to cry), Aaron tells him to call so they know he got there safely, and Robert hands him some cash so he has something to tide him over. He even jokes about Gerry paying him back, and they all laugh, because  _yeah right,_ that’s  _going to happen_. 

Eventually, Gerry wipes his wet eyes, puts on his rucksack, gives them a sad wave, and says, “Laters ‘taters” one last time, before turning and walking towards security. 

“He’ll be fine,” Robert says, as they watch his little denim-jacketed back make his way further up the line. And Aaron nods, because _yeah_ , this is sweet, unflappable Gerry. He’s done this before he came to town, so he’ll be able to do it again. 

A week later, they go to visit Liv (she’s finally seeing them again), and this time they have a postcard from Spain with them, the back entirely covered in a blurt of barely legible words, all crammed into that small space, the Mill's address and a few stamps squeezed into one corner. There are only two small words, that stand out clearly from all the rest, all the way at the bottom, in big block letters. 

“LOVE, GERRY.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of a response to an Anon who was hoping that Gerry would not only survive but go on the run. And in the process of answering them, I spun out this alternate universe, one where Gerry does indeed survive. Because I know that I for one am going to absolutely miss writing for him (I don't even know how the real Ed writers will cope. Shaun Thomas was a gift.) He was a constant inspiration for jokes, and he always offered me an interesting dynamic to explore when it came to Robert, Aaron, and Liv's little family. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know if you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or concerns. You can drop a line below, or over on tumblr, where I'm @rustandruin. 
> 
> Hugs all around.


End file.
